Classy Kitchen Cabinets With Traditional Style
You’ll recognize a “traditional” style for kitchen cabinets when you see ornate details and doors with raised panels. Always popular, the classic traditional style features arched designs, carved details, and added features like crown molding and corbels (the decorative curved corner or edge pieces that fit under countertops or shelves). Traditional kitchen cabinetry is the most formal style, but designers and craftsmen have re-envisioned this traditional style to complement more contemporary and modern kitchens. From wood to paint, from multi-layer doors to straight lines and simple panels, traditional style cabinets can enhance any remodeling project.
Traditional style cabinets in stained wood or painted finishes
If you’ve started to look around and dream about your kitchen remodel, you’ll know kitchen cabinets come in many styles and colors. Choosing the right style, color, and finish for your new cabinets can be a difficult decision. Generally speaking, a traditional kitchen design favors neutral colors that are either warm or cool, in either a glaze or antique finish.
Many wood finishes hold the deep, dark colors that give the traditional kitchen a classy and elegant look. Cabinets finished in these dark wood stains are often paired with walls and other surfaces in earth tones, warm neutrals, or white to bring more light into the room.
On the other hand, lighter wood finishes on cabinets that feature silver or nickel drawer handles and doorknobs look very contemporary when paired with stainless steel appliances.
And to accentuate the lines and curves of framed cabinet doors that may also feature beveling, a rich antique glaze makes an excellent choice.
New cabinet door designs expand traditional style options
Where traditional styles are branching out is with the cabinet door design itself. The Shaker-style framed door features one frame around the door, with a flat recessed panel. These sleek cabinets look great in various kitchens, whether they favor a traditional, transitional, or contemporary style.
You will often see Shaker cabinets with a painted finish. Depending on the decor in the rest of the home, these cabinets could feature various colors. For a more modern look, some homeowners prefer two-toned cabinets, with the upper cabinets painted in one color, then a different paint or wood stain for the base cabinets.
Traditional cabinetry with Shaker-style doors can be painted in colors that fit the country- or farmhouse-style kitchens. These cabinets offer both class and versatility because they integrate well into a range of different décor styles.
Traditional style kitchen to favor both classic and contemporary preferences
With tastefully ornate and even elaborate accessories, traditional kitchens express an inclination for luxury and elegance.
The Tacoma style cabinet doors feature an extra layer of beveled overlay installed on top of the Shaker style door.
Yorkshire cabinet style adds another overlay to a Tacoma-style door front, taking this layering technique further.
And for the most elaborate and traditional kitchen cabinet, consider the Cambridge style cabinet. These cabinets start with the Shaker-style raised frame around the entire door front, then add an interior raised frame around a beveled center panel. The center panel also has a raised frame.
These three distinct new cabinet lines move the traditional style closer to the scale and even grandeur of old-world style. In contrast, the Shaker-style single-frame design and clean lines allow it to work well in a contemporary or modern home.
More features of the traditional-style kitchen
A traditional kitchen incorporates a few other design features that set it apart from a transitional, contemporary, country, or farmhouse style– more than just a difference in cabinets.
Lively countertops
In a traditional-style kitchen, the countertops are a lively part of the design. You can bring light, color, and movement to a 
traditional kitchen by choosing quartz or granite countertops with a subtle or dramatic pattern.
Mellow backsplash
In contrast to the countertops, the traditional-style backsplash usually features a subdued pattern in a neutral color that complements the kitchen cabinets and flooring. If a more spirited backsplash is chosen, it usually provides a contrast to a painted or stained traditional-style cabinet.
Decorative lighting
The classic chandelier is a natural choice for a traditional kitchen. But you don’t have to go straight to the classic teardrop chandelier. Any decorative chandelier that fits your home decor will look great in a traditional kitchen. Choose one to express your personality and bring the whole home together.
Warm and inviting flooring
Due to the flexibility provided by neutral colors in a traditional kitchen, the flooring type doesn’t matter as much as the color. Whether you prefer the look of hardwood, tile, sheet vinyl, or vinyl/resilient flooring, choose one in a warm or cool neutral to complement your cabinets’ color.
Embellishments define the traditional kitchen. They add character, charm, and style to the kitchen while still supporting function and improving storage. With a thoughtful mix of cabinet colors, finishes, and countertop materials, you’ll create a furniture-style look marks the traditional kitchen.
Visit our photo gallery, the inspiration for your traditional kitchen.
